Winsome, Lose Some: Beating the Gaming Machine
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058803500316 |
| Date | 01 September 1988 |
| Published date | 01 September 1988 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Winsome, Lose Some:
Beating the Gaming
Machine
Dave Bissitt, Patrick Crate-Lionel and Roger Lambert
HMYCC Glen Parva
Machine gambling is frequently lost sight of amongst the
more obvious difficulties experienced by Youth Custody
trainees. Prison and probation staff at Glen Parva have
worked together to address the problem.
Gambling has been well described’ as the
virtually non-existent and concerns only the
’hidden addiction’. Machine gambling is more
pay-out in certain situations. Machine operators
obvious but the problem tends to be obscured
must be licensed but in practice licences are
by the sheer numbers of machines and their
readily obtained and have few conditions. (3rdy
wide social acceptability. What information
the British Amusement Catering Trades
does exist on the extent of machine gambling
Association’s Code of Practice prohibits per-
is generally regarded as out of date, inadequate
sons under 16 years entering the premises of
and inaccurate. What is, however, abundantly
amusement arcades.
clear is that the amount of money staked in
machines is enormous and growing rapidly. It
The Extent of the Problem
is also clear that for many, predominantly
young players, machine gambling represents a
Though many young people can exercise con-
trol over their use of
very real problem.
machines, concern must
be expressed over the number of young people
- Growing Concern
playing them. A recent survey’ identified over
14 % of children between the ages of
13 and 16
Nationally the amusement arcade industry is
visiting an arcade at least weekly. 11 % of this
said to have a turnover of I=1.~ billion and has
population spent over ~l(1 per week. Ex-
seen a 5 % increase in its profits over the past
trapolating from the survey figures, over
four years. Accounts and statistics are not easily
417,000 children visit arcades at least weekly.
obtained but machine gambling is the fastest
Small wonder that a significant proportion of
growing of all the gambling outlets...
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